Talk is cheap, Slipper tells England

Wallabies prop James Slipper has reminded Eddie Jones and England that while media barbs about 'Bodyline' might be great to drum up pre-series interest, talk is cheap.

Wily England mentor Jones has foreshadowed an aggressive English side will be unleashed in the three-Test series against Australia, which begins on Saturday night at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.

But just as his attempts of luring his counterpart Michael Cheika into a war of words have largely fallen on deaf ears, if threats of physicality from the Red Rose are supposed to rattle the world No.2 Wallabies, it's not working either.

You might also like

"They say that every year," Slipper said.

"We're trying to do the same thing to them.

"There was the same sort of chat around the World Cup last year.

"At the end of the day you've got to get out there and do it, and I'm sure both teams will be trying to do it.

"It's really setting up to be a good series and that first game at Suncorp's going to be a lot of hype around it."

The fresh bruise under Slipper's right eye, living proof of the brutality of their Sunshine Coast training camp, as he spoke to reporters at the Wallabies fan day event in Brisbane underscored his words.

"Caloundra was a tough week," he said.

"We trained really hard and the boys got stuck into each other.

"It was a good week of preparation and I think the boys are ready to play."

Loosehead Slipper, who was sidelined due to off-season shoulder surgery in the early part of the year, is likely to come off the bench in the first Test, with Scott Sio and the rest of the World Cup front row to be retained by Cheika.

"Scotty's had a good year," Slipper said.

"(Mine) obviously hasn't been great, it's been a tough year for myself, but I'm just happy to be back into the picture.